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By Matthew Davis
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Michigan athletic director Wade Manuel announced on Monday that he is stepping down at the end of the year, and the Wolverines will be looking for a new AD soon.
The Wolverines enjoyed major success under Manuel with national championships in football and men’s basketball. However, Michigan will need a culture shift amid the controversies that have surfaced over his 11-year tenure. Here are potential candidates for the AD role with Michigan to keep an eye on.
Joe Parker
The Iowa deputy athletic director was once a three-time All-American at Michigan before his career in collegiate athletics. Park has experience all over the country, which includes a stint with Colorado State as the athletic director from 2015 to 2024.
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CSU enjoyed success under Parker with 24 Mountain West Conference championships in that span. Parker once served as senior associate athletic director at Michigan from 2003 to 2011.
His time in Ann Arbor consisted of major renovations to Michigan Stadium, where he helped raise more than $45 million. Parker’s other athletics administration stops include Texas Tech as the deputy athletic director and roles with Oklahoma, Texas and Washington State.
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Graham Neff
The Clemson athletic director has enjoyed much success in his time with the Tigers, which began as an associate AD in 2013 followed by AD in 2021. He supervised the use of $200 million for capital projects, and Neff developed student-athlete welfare and financial and operations management in the department.
Neff wasn’t a student-athlete before his career, but he served as Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball student manager during the Final Four run in 2004. His success in athletics administration was recognized by Sports Business Daily in 2019 and 2021.
Jeremiah Donati
The South Carolina athletics director enjoyed success in the SEC since early 2025 after a seven-year tenure as TCU’s AD in the Big 12. Gamecocks athletics achievements in Donati’s brief tenure thus far include the women’s basketball team taking national runner-up and women’s outdoor track and field taking seventh nationally. South Carolina has won three SEC titles in his time, and the softball team made the Super Regionals.
His success at TCU included the successful transition between former longtime football head coach Gary Patterson to Sonny Dykes, who led the Horned Frogs to the 2023 national championship game. TCU also had a $40 million performance center upgrade during Dontai’s tenure.
Danny White
The Tennessee athletic director since 2021, he was part of the Volunteers capturing two SEC All-Sports trophies in 2022 and 2023. He has major fundraising and financial success, including $200 million in revenue for 2024.
Tennessee had an all-time best Director’s Cup finish at sixth for 2022-2023. Two years later, the Sports Business Journal recognized White as the 2025 Athletic Director of the Year.
White’s previous stop at Central Florida between 2015 and 2021 showed his ability to build a program for a mid-major as well.
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